Practice Profile

Amanda Li practices in criminal and civil law.

Amanda practices in all areas of criminal law, specializing in complexed commercial crimes and money laundering. Amanda regularly appears as junior counsel defending established individuals in all levels of court including the Court of Final Appeal. Amanda is briefed by the Department of Justice to prosecute in selected cases in the District Court. Amanda sat as a Deputy Special Magistrate in 2009.

In her civil commercial practice, Amanda appears in the High Court as advocate in her own right and as junior counsel in cases involving fraud, shareholders and contractual disputes.

Language

Selected Cases

Criminal cases

Yan Sui Ling (嚴穗陵) v. HKSAR [2012] 15 HKCFAR 146

Chinese investor Madam Yan Sui Ling was convicted of a charge of money laundering in the District Court. Amanda, led by her Head of Chambers, Mr. Wong Man Kit S.C. conducted the appeal in the Court of Appeal against the conviction. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal. Amanda, led by Mr. Wong S.C., further conducted the appeal in the Court of Final Appeal, and leave to appeal was granted on the limb of substantial and grave injustice. The Court of Final Appeal accepted their submissions and quashed Madam Yan’s conviction. The case involved the significant issue of the underground banking system in mainland China on money laundering offences in Hong Kong.

The Defendants were charged with money laundering offences based on their five years’ bank account transactions and their tax returns. Amanda, led by Mr. Wong S.C., defended the Defendants and they were convicted of a number of charges after trial. Amanda, led by Mr. Wong S.C. conducted the appeal in the Court of Appeal and the convictions were quashed, and no retrial was ordered. The issues involved points of law arising from the Court of Final Appeal’s decision in Pang Hung Fai and whether the trial judge erred in his findings of facts and his application of the test as expounded in Pang Hung Fai.

Businessman Mr. Koon Wing Yee and his co-defendants were charged with blackmailing Hui Chi Ming over a money dispute involving the shares of a locally listed company as well as possession of firearms. Amanda, led by Mr. Wong S.C., defended one of the co-defendants Mr. Sham Man Keung before a jury at the Court of First Instance. The defendants were acquitted of all charges after trial.

Amanda, led by Mr. Wong S.C., is representing Detective Sergeant Pak Wing-bun who was one of the 7 police officers convicted in the District Court for assaulting protestor Tsang Kin Chiu in the Central Occupy Movement in 2014 in an appeal against both conviction and sentence in the Court of Appeal.

HKSAR v. Yeung Ka Sing Carson (楊家誠) (CACC No. 101/2014)

Businessman and former president of English football club Birmingham City FC Mr. Carson Yeung was convicted of money laundering offences in the District Court. Amanda, led by Mr. Wong S.C. prepared the perfected grounds of appeal for Mr. Yeung in the appeal to the Court of Appeal before the release of the Court of Final Appeal’s decision in Pang Hung Fai and conducted the first bail pending appeal application for Mr. Yeung.

Amanda, led by Mr. Wong S.C., defended businesswoman Madam Yik Siu Hung in the complicated and lengthy jury trial at the Court of First Instance who was charged with conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, arising from the purchase of an overseas oilfield by a locally listed company Pearl Oriental Oil Limited. Madam Yik was convicted after trial.

Amanda, led by Mr. Wong S.C., acted for Dr. Kennedy Wong Ying Ho (former chairman of a listed company and member of the Political Consultative Conference of the PRC) who is charged with bribery offences. The jury trial at the Court of First Instance originally scheduled to commence in February 2017, but upon the application by the Department of Justice, the Court ordered that the matter be transferred to the District Court for trial. Amanda is not involved in the District Court trial.

Amanda, led by Mr. Wong S.C., represented Madam Chan Sock Fun, former organizer of Jacky Cheung’s concerts, in resisting an application for a summons of private prosecution against her for conspiracy to defraud in respect of the matters arising out of Jacky Cheung’s ½ century world tour concerts. The application was dismissed by the Magistrate for lack of merits.

HKSAR v. Ip Man Man (葉民文) (DCCC No.801/2002)

Amanda, led by Mr. Wong S.C., defended Mr. Ip Man Man, former chairman of a locally listed company in a District Court trial, who was charged with embezzlement of funds belonging to the listed company of which he was the chairman and the majority shareholder. The Defendant was acquitted after trial.

Amanda, led by a Senior Counsel, successfully applied for a permanent stay of criminal proceedings for businessman Mr. Cheung Chung Chit in a District Court trial who was charged with having in possession of counterfeit banknotes. Amanda, led by two Senior Counsel, also appeared in the High Court in an application for judicial review made by the Secretary for Justice against the decision of the trial judge in granting a permanent stay and also in an appeal against the High Court decision. The Court of Appeal reaffirmed the High Court decision in, inter alia, quashing the decision granting a permanent stay on grounds that the application was made on a premature basis.